Personal Profile:
Hello, my name is Willem Dekooning. I was one of the leading members of Abstract Expressionism, particularly the art form known as Action painting. I was most known for his pictures of women and later on, landscapes. Most of my paintings are “action painting” making it look like the figures are still moving to get into position. I developed Alzheimer's around age 80. I decided to leave school when I was 12 to apprentice at a commercial design and decorating firm. After that I went to study at Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts and Techniques. I traveled to the United States as a stowaway in 1926. When I got to America, I worked as a house painter temporarily.
Images:
FRIENDS and other masters that influenced me:
About my art:
I was an Abstract Expressionist and was heavily influenced by the Cubism of Picasso. I became a master at ambiguously blending the figure and the ground in my pictures while dismembering, re-assembling and distorting the figures in the process.
Abstract art seeks to break away from traditional representation of physical objects. It explores the relationships of forms and colors, where as more traditional art represents the world in recognizable images.
My early art included a number of the black-and-white abstractions I had initiated in 1946. My paintings in the early 1950s were followed by abstract urban landscapes, parkways, and rural landscapes.
I was an Abstract Expressionist and was heavily influenced by the Cubism of Picasso. I became a master at ambiguously blending the figure and the ground in my pictures while dismembering, re-assembling and distorting the figures in the process.
Abstract art seeks to break away from traditional representation of physical objects. It explores the relationships of forms and colors, where as more traditional art represents the world in recognizable images.
My early art included a number of the black-and-white abstractions I had initiated in 1946. My paintings in the early 1950s were followed by abstract urban landscapes, parkways, and rural landscapes.
Other notables during my lifetime:
Inventions, famous people, timeline info-that occurred during my lifetime.
1904- I was born
1916-Left grammar school
(1917-21)-Attended night classes at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts
1924-Traveled to Belgium with friends
1926-Sailed as a stowaway, entering the United States illegally
1927-Moved to New York City
1935-Left his job designing display windows
(1935-37)- Worked on murals for Williamsburg Federal Housing Project in Brooklyn
1936- Met critic Harold Rosenberg, who became an important supporter of his work.
(1939-40)-Met Franz Kline, who became one of his closest friends
1943-December 9. Married Elaine Fried
1949-Delivered his first public lecture, “A Desperate View,”
1950-Drank alcohol to manage anxiety
1951- Received Logan Medal and Purchase Prize
(1951-52)-Began spending summers in East Hampton, New York
1956-Daughter Johanna Liesbeth birth
1957-Made his earliest surviving print, titled Revenge
1958- Declined The Museum of Modern Art’s invitation to have a major exhibition of his work
1959-Publication of his first monograph
(1959-60)-Traveled to Italy
1960-Traveled to San Francisco where he made his first two lithographs
1961-Began to design and build studio in Springs, New York
1962- Became U.S. citizen
1963-Moved permanently to Springs from New York City
1964-Awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon B. Johnson
1966-Signed exclusive contract with dealer M. Knoedler & Co
(1968-69)-
1969- In Rome, modeled first 13 sculptures in clay at the foundry
1970-Traveled to Japan with Xavier Fourcade
(1970-71)- Created a series of lithographs at Hollander Workshop, New York
(1978-80)-Resumed daily contact with Elaine de Kooning, who assisted him in regaining health after dangerous bouts with alcoholism
1979-Was named an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by the Dutch government
1982-First exhibition to focus on works from the 1980s
(1983-84)-Major retrospective exhibition
1989-Elaine de Kooning died
1989- Appeared to be suffering from Alzheimer’s-like dementia
1991-Stopped work on his last painting
1997-Died at the age of 92, at his home in East Hampton, New York
1904- I was born
1916-Left grammar school
(1917-21)-Attended night classes at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts
1924-Traveled to Belgium with friends
1926-Sailed as a stowaway, entering the United States illegally
1927-Moved to New York City
1935-Left his job designing display windows
(1935-37)- Worked on murals for Williamsburg Federal Housing Project in Brooklyn
1936- Met critic Harold Rosenberg, who became an important supporter of his work.
(1939-40)-Met Franz Kline, who became one of his closest friends
1943-December 9. Married Elaine Fried
1949-Delivered his first public lecture, “A Desperate View,”
1950-Drank alcohol to manage anxiety
1951- Received Logan Medal and Purchase Prize
(1951-52)-Began spending summers in East Hampton, New York
1956-Daughter Johanna Liesbeth birth
1957-Made his earliest surviving print, titled Revenge
1958- Declined The Museum of Modern Art’s invitation to have a major exhibition of his work
1959-Publication of his first monograph
(1959-60)-Traveled to Italy
1960-Traveled to San Francisco where he made his first two lithographs
1961-Began to design and build studio in Springs, New York
1962- Became U.S. citizen
1963-Moved permanently to Springs from New York City
1964-Awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon B. Johnson
1966-Signed exclusive contract with dealer M. Knoedler & Co
(1968-69)-
1969- In Rome, modeled first 13 sculptures in clay at the foundry
1970-Traveled to Japan with Xavier Fourcade
(1970-71)- Created a series of lithographs at Hollander Workshop, New York
(1978-80)-Resumed daily contact with Elaine de Kooning, who assisted him in regaining health after dangerous bouts with alcoholism
1979-Was named an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau by the Dutch government
1982-First exhibition to focus on works from the 1980s
(1983-84)-Major retrospective exhibition
1989-Elaine de Kooning died
1989- Appeared to be suffering from Alzheimer’s-like dementia
1991-Stopped work on his last painting
1997-Died at the age of 92, at his home in East Hampton, New York